Dec. 1, 2009
Notre Dame Men’s Basketball
Notre Dame vs. Idaho State
December 1, 2009
Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center – Notre Dame, Ind.
Notre Dame Head Coach Mike Brey
On Idaho State’s play…
“They got some bodies on them. They drive the ball a lot more. They put some pressure on us, and we had a hard time guarding them in the first half. In the second half we did a better job guarding them. We started contesting them a little more and made better decisions. “
On Luke Harangody reaching the 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds milestone…
“To be in that territory of 2,000 points is quite an accomplishment. It’s really a staggering point in his career. He takes good shots. He’s on the boards for us. Tonight he had some great passes too. He doesn’t just do this in games; he does this all the time for us. This is his last year. It’s important to come out here and show him the support he deserves. He’s really had a huge impact on our basketball program here.”
On the team’s improvement…
“Tory [Jackson] helped turn the game around for us once we set him lose and helped set the tone for us defensively. In the second half we applied our defensive pressure better and made better stops. I think the first couple of games [Carleton Scott] struggled for us, but during the last three, maybe four games, he has really started rebounding. With his length he’s been able to block some shots and have some deflections for us. We got a chance to play Mike Broghammer who provides a big, physical body for us and gives us an eighth guy.”
On having a longer break before the next game…
“It’s going to be good for us to get some rest tomorrow and Thursday before we get back in and really practice on Friday and Saturday. There are some things we need to work on, but we can’t just go in the gym for two straight hours without playing the next night.”
Notre Dame Players Quotes
Luke Harangody – Senior – Forward
On reaching 2,000 career points…
“Never once did I ever think about that… as I said before, I came here as a freshman just wanting to do the small things, and not until Coach Brey talked to me my sophomore year about being a special player did I realize I could be the player I’ve become.”
Milestones you’ve reached…
“Coach Brey and our SID Bernie Cafarelli like to talk about it, but I’m a player who doesn’t like to hear those things, doesn’t like to think about it. Everyone’s pretty good about keeping it quiet and I just focus on myself going out there and playing. “
Now that it’s done…
“Now I can focus on the rest of the season.”
Ben Hansborough – Senior – Guard
On tonight’s game…
“We got our first loss, bounced back and got two wins in a row and I just love the way this team plays together. Everybody’s on the same track.”
On Luke Harangody…
“He’s an unbelievable competitor. Going out there scoring all of those points out of pure will. His competitiveness is kind of a rarity in college basketball. He’s the kind of guy who goes out there and gives it everything he has. He’s just a heck of a player; I love playing with him.”
On the similarities between Luke and his brother Tyler …
“I’m spoiled. I’ve gotten to play with what I think are the two best big men in college basketball the past couple years. He reminds me a lot of my brother.”
Tory Jackson – Senior – Guard
Impressions of the game …
“We didn’t know who their shooters were; everyone was shooting today. Some guys were just throwing it in from everywhere, hard to defend guys like that. We have to do a better job of getting stops early and making them uncomfortable.”
On the flow of the game …
“Offensively we got in a rhythm. We went to the post early. Harangody took care of business early. Carlton and Nash got on the glass early. In the first half, we were just thinking offense; in the second half, we put both together. Defensively we got the stops.”
On this being a key win after a tough stretch of games …
“Everyone was in “Kobe” mode tonight. Everybody was just having fun. In the second half, we were defending and getting stops. We were excited in the second half because we were doing what we needed to do defensively. I don’t think you saw anybody smile in the first half because we didn’t play well defensively and were not getting any stops.”
On the differences between the first and second half …
“They got opportunities to drive right by us. When you have layups like that, of course you’re going to shoot over 50 percent. In the second half we did a better job of helping each other out. “
Idaho State Head Coach Joe O’Brien
When asked about their tough schedule…
“It’s been tough. This is the conclusion of our second six-day road trip this season, and we’re taking some lumps. But I’m a realist, we’re in the Big Sky and there’s only one bid to a Big Sky team at the end of the year, so I firmly believe… we’re going to play the best schedule we can play. We’ll find out as much about our team as we can, both strengths and weaknesses, here in November and December, and we’ll hope it pays off during conference games and at the end of the season. We’ll turn the program around at Idaho State with this schedule mentality.”
On any changes in game preparation for this game…
“We knew we weren’t going to be able to rebound at Notre Dame. We aren’t very physical, Demetrius Monroe is giving up about 50 pounds to Luke Harangody, I know everybody’s giving up something to Luke, but Monroe, he’s giving up a lot of weight. But I thought he played well, and we knew we were going to have to be very efficient, have limited turnovers, shoot the ball pretty well, be patient, because we weren’t going to be able to do the things we’ve been…we’ve been averaging 12 offensive rebounds a game so far this season, and tonight we did four, so that took away a chunk of our offensive production.”